Las Vegas judge orders release of two immigration detainees in rebuke to feds

A federal judge in Las Vegas has ordered the release of an immigration detainee, finding that federal authorities did not comply with a previous ruling requiring that the man receive a constitutionally adequate bond hearing.

In another case, he ruled Friday that the government must release a detainee because it failed to identify any lawful authority that permits the detainee’s continued detention.

“Respondents are once more reminded of the familiar maxim: ‘Judges are not like pigs, hunting for truffles,’” wrote U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware, quoting a prior decision. He added: “The government must provide specific justification for its detention of Petitioner and not leave the Court to guess or speculate from its general arguments.”

The decisions are a new development in a larger, ongoing dispute between federal officials, including those at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Boulware, who previously accused the government of “lawless conduct” for holding immigrants in detention for months without bond hearings.

The Nevada U.S. attorney’s office and U.S. Department of Homeland Security acknowledged requests for comments, but did not provide comment Monday. ICE also provided no comment.

Bond hearing issues

Federal authorities had asserted that Giovanni Henriquez-Osorio was a member of MS-13 or Mara Salvatrucha, a gang that started in Los Angeles in the 1980s and engages in murder, human smuggling and drug trafficking in the United States and other countries, according to the National Counterterrorism Center.

But Boulware said in his July 16 ruling that the government had provided no evidence of Henriquez-Osorio’s supposed gang membership.

Federal public defenders also argued in court papers that there was no evidence of such ties.

Henriquez-Osorio — who was held at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump — is a native of El Salvador and fears torture and persecution if deported, according to court records.

A Department of Homeland Security report previously stated that he did not fear torture or persecution.

He was living in Provo, Utah, at the time of his arrest and was ordered to be removed to his home country, records show.

An immigration judge had found in July 2025 that Henriquez-Osorio was a danger to the community, according to Boulware’s ruling.

But Boulware in March ordered that he be released or quickly receive a bond hearing where the government would bear the burden of proving whether he was a flight risk or dangerous.

The federal government had disagreed that Henriquez-Osorio was entitled to a bond hearing and suggested in a filing that Boulware had adopted an “atextual” reading of the law.

Release ordered, with threat of contempt sanctions

Henriquez-Osorio received another bond hearing, but again, an immigration judge ruled that he posed a danger to the community.

That determination was based on DUI and domestic violation convictions, warrants being issued for his arrest, his failure to appear in state court and a previous revocation of his probation, Boulware’s decision said.

Boulware said the immigration judge who held the hearing and the Department of Homeland Security did not fully explain what burden the government bore.

He also said the immigration judge’s decision misstated the record and misconstrued facts to determine that Henriquez-Osorio was dangerous.

Utah court records indicated Henriquez-Osorio was repeatedly convicted of disorderly conduct in cases involving domestic violence, not that he pleaded guilty to conduct amounting to domestic violence, Boulware’s ruling said.

And the record did not show Henriquez-Osorio failed to appear and had warrants issued for him, said Boulware, who previously indicated that Henriquez-Osorio had faced a warrant that was recalled.

“Since the arrests, Petitioner has made an inner transformation,” said one filing on his behalf. “Petitioner is now a faithful husband, responsible father and dedicated family man.”

Court papers argued that his detention had caused financial harm to his family — a partner and infant son — and left them facing eviction.

Boulware ordered the man to be released on July 17 and said the federal government could impose reasonable supervision conditions. He threatened contempt sanctions if ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not follow his order.

Henriquez-Osorio was released July 17, according to a status report filed by his public defender and a federal prosecutor.

‘Erroneous, prolonged detention’

Boulware on Friday ordered the release of Luis Vasquez Alvarado.

Vasquez Alvarado fled Guatemala in 2023 after being threatened by a gang, according to Boulware’s ruling. He and his family applied for asylum and settled in the Las Vegas area.

But on May 30, he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department, said Boulware’s decision, which did not specify the nature of the arrest. Upon his release June 1, ICE detained him and an immigration judge denied him a bond hearing, the ruling said.

Vasquez Alvarado filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention, but federal authorities failed to substantively respond and made misrepresentations about their communication with his attorneys, according to Boulware.

The judge also disagreed that Vasquez Alvarado was subject to mandatory detention.

“Based on the record before it, the Court finds that Petitioner is subject to erroneous, prolonged detention,” he wrote. “Petitioner requests relief in the form of immediate release to remedy this. Because Respondents have failed to identify any lawful authority that permits Petitioner’s continued detention, the Court finds immediate relief is the appropriate remedy.”